


Not Quite Like the Stories

by Lassarina



Category: Final Fantasy
Genre: F/F, Final Fantasy Kiss Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-02-19
Packaged: 2017-11-29 19:37:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/690665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassarina/pseuds/Lassarina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a rescued princess is very little like the stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Quite Like the Stories

Her rescuers are a many and varied lot, Sarah discovers. Leo offers proudly to carry her any way she likes, which offer she politely declines; it may not be safe to walk on her own two feet but she is no invalid, and in any event she desires to take full advantage of the opportunity to move freely beyond castle walls. Sarisa is stunningly attractive and clever, and she is aware of both of those things; she flirts incorrigibly with Sarah and Leo both, though Sarah is certain that Sarisa is already Leo's lover. Jenica grouses at everyone, but her hands are gentle and competent when she uses her magic to heal the marks on Sarah's wrists from rope and chain (and less gentle handling). Stella is rumpled and plain, but incredibly intelligent; her robes might go wrinkled and stained, but she knows the answer to every question almost before it is asked.

Sarah admires all of them, for their competence and energy; she is grateful to them for rescuing her, and angry at herself for needing it. She watches them banter and chatter even as they smoothly cut their way through anything that would stand in their path, and she wishes she had this easy camaraderie. In the castle, no one is her equal; her parents are above her and everyone else, even her little sister, is beneath her. She wishes for the friendship and challenge they share with each other, and she admits (if only to herself) that she finds all of them attractive in their own way.

Yet it is Stella who draws her most; Jenica is lovely and kind, but too much like Sarah's mother for her own peace of mind, and while Sarah is quite certain Sarisa would dearly love to make good on her outrageous flattery and flirtatious promises, she has no desire to be another feather in the thief's cap. Stella, though, is willing to tell her of the lands beyond the castle, and has read even more books than Sarah has. She also finds Stella's plainness charming; it is real, and already Sarah has played the intrigue game for long enough to value the genuine on the rare occasion when she finds it. And, too, she is charmed by Stella's willingness to make fire dance for her. It makes the black mage's stories even more entertaining than her dryly witty delivery would normally do.

They are sitting up by the fire, long after Jenica has rolled herself into her bedroll and Sarisa and Leo have retreated to...somewhere far enough not to be heard, at least if they plan to heed Jenica's dire imprecations of what will happen if she should overhear them. Sarah knows she should let Stella sleep, for she knows the black mage is too polite to go to sleep until Sarah herself has done so, but she is so enjoying the discussion about the fall of the Lufenian Empire. She has never met anyone else who even _knows the Lufenian Empire exists._

Yet she is cognizant that she risks not just her own safety, but her rescuers' safety, and so she makes herself stop. "I should let you sleep," she says.

"Oh, I don't sleep much," Stella says, and then immediately blushes. "Oh, I'm so sorry! You must be tired, I didn't want to keep you up."

"I haven't been sleeping much either," Sarah says.

Stella cocks her head to the side like the inquisitive little sparrows that flock to the crumbs Sarah scatters on her windowsill for them. "Is this a new problem?" she asks.

"Since Garland kidnapped me, yes." When she gets back to the castle, she can have the apothecary make her a sleeping draught, but until then she's so tired she could trip over things.

"I can give you dreamless sleep," Stella offers.

Sarah's eyes widen. "You don't have to do that," she protests. She knows how draining magic can be.

"I'd like to," Stella says firmly.

Sarah tips her head back to look up at the stars. Tomorrow, they will be back in Cornelia. Tonight, she wants something for herself.

She leans over and kisses Stella's cheek, too fast, and bumps her nose into Stella's. So much for the grace of a princess. Her next effort is equally inept, a slightly wet mashing of lips that nonetheless is thrilling.

Still, she is conscious of her position, and that Stella might not _want_ to kiss her, so she pulls back.

Stella's eyes open slowly, and she smiles a little. "That was nice," she says, so softly Sarah almost doesn't hear her over the crackling of the campfire.

"I--" Sarah wrings her hands in her lap. "You don't have to--I won't be offended."

Stella's hand comes up and rests feather-soft on her cheek and then _Stella kisses her back,_ and her lips are warm and soft. Maybe it's not exactly the dazzle of lightning and fire in the romances Sarah has read, but it does send a shiver of pleasure down her spine, and she very much enjoys it. Stella's fingers slide into her hair and she carefully curls a hand around the back of Stella's neck, playing with the short ends of Stella's curls, usually hidden under her pointy hat.

When they have to break apart for breath, Sarah's heart is beating too fast, and she feels a bit tingly all over, which is rather more like what the romances described, though they do it better. Stella has a dreamy half-smile on her face, and it makes Sarah glad--even if she's pretending, it's a pleasant pretense.

They stare at each other for a moment, and then Stella clears her throat. "Um," she says, and Sarah likewise scrambles for something to say.

Stella gets there first. "I'd like to do more of that, but we probably should try to get _some_ sleep," she says. "Do you want me to help you?"

"Please," Sarah says.

Stella gets her tucked into the blanket, gentler than Sarah would have thought for someone who takes that much glee in lighting savage beasts on fire, and whispers words that warp the very air around her. Immediately, Sarah is so sleepy that she could not keep her eyes open if her very life depended on it.

"If you wanted to visit Cornelia again, when you're done with your Crystals, you should," she mumbles, right before she drops off.

She feels Stella's hand gentle on her cheek as she does.


End file.
